Saturday Night Open Thread

May it please the Court, Eric Brendt is a smart and ballsy guy.... Read More......

Scalia and Sodomy, Part II

Let me back up what Joe just wrote below. I just read the open letter from the NYU student who asked Scalia this week if he sodomized his wife. And all I can say is, THANK YOU.

Joe links to the entire letter in the post below, but here is an especially good segment. This guy rocks, in my book. And anyone who says "well that wasn't appropriate" should think about how appropriate it is for Scalia to lament that states can no longer regulate masturbation (not kidding). If Antonin Scalia can regulate masturbation, then we have the right to know if he sodomizes his wife. either these are private sex acts or they're fair game for state involvement. Scalia can't have it both ways. God bless this guy for doing what he did.

I am 17 months out of a lifelong closet and have lost too much time to heterosexist hegemony to tolerate those who say, as Dr. King put it, "just wait." If you cannot stomach a breach of decorum when justified outrage erupts then your support is nearly worthless anyway. At least do not allow yourselves to become complicit in discrimination by demanding obedience from its victims.

Many of our classmates chose NYU over higher-ranked schools because of our reputation as a "private university in the public service" and our commitment to certain values. We were the first law school to require that employers pledge not to discriminate on the basis of sexual orientation. Of Scalia's law schools that have "signed on to the homosexual agenda," our signature stands out like John Hancock's. We won a federal injunction in the FAIR litigation as an "expressive association" that counts acceptance of sexual orientation as a core value. Those who worry about our school's prestige should remember how we got here and consider whether flattering those who mock what we believe and are otherwise willing to fight for appears prestigious or pathetic. We protestors did not embarrass NYU, Scalia embarrassed NYU. We stood up to a bigot for the values that make NYU more than a great place to learn the law.

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Scalia's Sodomy Questioner Responds

Last Wednesday, John posted a link to the story about, Eric Berndt, a student at NYU Law School asking Antonin Scalia if he ever sodomized his wife. Thanks to Impeach Bush for pointing us to the student's response to his critics which was posted by Wonkette.

Any doubts about whether Scalia should be asked this question will be assuaged by reading his hateful, homophobic dissent in Lawrence v. Texas. And realize that under the theocracy, everyone will be asked these questions, because sodomy is going to be illegal for everyone, not just the homos. Read More......

Open Thread

Have at it.... Read More......

What exactly is the Theocrat's real Agenda?

The New York Times lead editorial slams Bill Frist today:

Right-wing Christian groups and the Republican politicians they bankroll have done much since the last election to impose their particular religious views on all Americans. But nothing comes close to the shameful declaration of religious war by Bill Frist, the Senate majority leader, over the selection of judges for federal courts.

Obviously, based on all the posts the past couple days, this issue has all of us riled up. But, there was one paragraph in the editorial that really got me thinking:

Senator Frist has an even bigger game in mind than the current nominees: the next appointments to the Supreme Court, which the Republican conservatives view as their best chance to outlaw abortion and impose their moral code on the country.

What is the moral code they want to impose on America. What exactly is it that the theocrats want? It's surely about a lot more than judges.

We already saw in the Schiavo case that they are willing to inject themselves between a husband and wife. Clearly, gay marriage isn't what they are after....controlling all marriage is.

And, we know the right wing/GOP is sex obsessed, so the agenda will heavily focus on that:

no oral sex - that's sodomy;

no masturbation;

no sex before marriage; and

no sex outside the marriage (let's see if there is a congressional exemption to that).

We know a woman's right to choose will be gone. Is banning contraception on their agenda?

Sure, this some of this sounds far-fetched....but, unfortunately, it isn't. Read Justice Scalia's dissent in the Lawrence v. Texas case. Check out state legislation that allows pharmacists to base decisions about whether to fill prescriptions based on "ethical or religious principles."

What else will they have in their theocracy agenda? Can you call Congress if your spouse doesn't want to have sex or procreate? And, let's face it, there will be no place for gays in the theocratic society. Repealing Lawrence and reinstituting sodomy laws will be a priority....then, they can criminalize us.

Wait until the put the crackdown on porn in full swing. That's when all those red state guys will realize they've been duped. See, the Democrats never wanted to take away their guns, but the GOP theocrats want their porn.

It would be flip to ask these questions if so much of their agenda hasn't already been laid out. But, you know what....we have to ask. And we have to get a lot of Americans asking. Because the power-hungry theocrats want to control EVERY aspect of our lives....and Bill Frist, Tom DeLay and the GOP are willing to let them.

The battle over the filibuster is really a much bigger battle about who controls the most intimate and personal aspects of our lives. Frist and his right wing nuts have tipped their hand. Their legislative agenda must be stopped. Read More......

Amtrak: Coincidence?

Yesterday's NY Times had a little blurb on page A17 from an AP report about how the White House was selling off Amtrak:

The Bush administration sent Congress on Thursday its plan to turn Amtrak into a private company that would focus on running trains in competition with other rail lines. It would set up a federal-state partnership to maintain tracks and stations.

The bill would also authorize money for projects on the Boston-Washington corridor, which carries nearly half of all passenger ridership. "This legislation is a lifeline to a dying railroad company," Transportation Secretary Norman Y. Mineta said.

Today, of course, the front page Times news is that all high speed Acela trains have been stopped because of cracks in the brakes:

Amtrak took all its Acela Express trains out of service early Friday morning after a government inspector looking under a train following a speed experiment noticed cracks in the brakes, and a quick check found hundreds of similar flaws on other trains.

The discovery of widespread fissures in the brake discs disrupted the travel plans of more than 10,000 people who ride the Acela Express trains every weekday along the Northeast Corridor between Boston, New York and Washington.

Coincidence? Or just part of the plan to destroy Amtrak? Read More......

Dominic and Me

Yeah, well, it's a cell phone camera, so what can I do.

Anyway, if you're not a sci-fi fan, move right along. As you now know, I met Dominic Keating of Star Trek: Enterprise last night in New York. Yeah, I stopped him as he was walking by and asked if he was him. He was. And man he was a nice guy. We talked a good ten to 15 minutes. As you may know, the show was just canceled, and Keating had a number of interesting observations, including:

- The show was canceled because of politics. The people on high kept telling the shows producers to do inane things to make it more interesting, like "add a tamborine to the theme music" (they did), and, my favorite, "add a boy band to one of the mess hall scenes, entertaining the crew" (I'm not kidding). They didn't take that last advice. Suffice it to say, I'm told, that all this meddling caused some bad will between the show's producers and the upper brass and that killed the show, even though Dominic says it's the #2 rated show at UPN.

- The fans apparently raised 3.5 million (in pledges, I think) to buy the show! But they'd have been smarter to spend that money on lobbying, oh well, someone should have called...

- I did tell him I really felt the show finally got its legs last season, and that this season especially, the Vulcan scenes, were fascinating. He agreed.

- Otherwise, Dominic was in NYC filming a mockumentary about Jonathan Winters. He's the role of the guy who "discovers" Winters, they were filming earlier that day outside the MOMA, where I ran into him last evening.

- Future plans? Probably gonna head back to London for this summer, then see what to do next. He sounds like he's planning to stay in the US, LA, find more work. But he was clearly very disappointed (I'd say a bit sad and ticked) about the show being canceled.

My overall impression was simply "what a nice guy". My friend Ki concurred. He totally didn't mind having fans stop him on the street, and while I kept trying to tell him I wasn't THAT much of a Star Trek geek, I don't think I was very convincing (hell, I'm blogging about it). But yeah, very very nice guy, and cute too. I told him I was posting this on one of the top lefty political blogs, so hopefully someone out there will know him and send him the link (and tell him that if he's ever in DC he BETTER email me for a drink, and if he's single...) Read More......

I'm online in NYC, finally!

Thank God. It took a bit to figure out the hotel Internet access.

Anyway, as Joe noted, it's been a fun 24 hours in New York. Other than the flat tire we got coming into town from the airport, it's been great. Yes, I'm getting my fill of orchids at the New York intentional orchid show at Rockefeller Plaza (the show is in the ice rink, 5 bucks entry, you gotta go), then they have tons of vendors nearby selling orchids. I just love this town. Exciting, inspiring, high-energy, beautiful people - BEAUTIFUL people. Our hotel is right off of Broadway - expensive as all get out, but what do you do.

Anyway, I won't be doing too much checking in this weekend, but Joe has promised to cover the slack. As soon as I get my photo transfered to my laptop, I'll post the photo of me and Star Trek's Dominic Keating (a very nice guy, the by the way) and the details of our talk, was quite interesting. Read More......

Open Thread

Just walked the dog...it's a cold morning in D.C....what's going on? Read More......

WaPo Media Notes on Death Tax

I admit I was surprised that Howard Kurtz covered the Death Tax legislation which the GOP rammed through the House. If the Dem's are looking for something to add to their arsenal in 2006, this piece of legislation is flawed and just more of the same from the GOP.

By a 238-194 vote, the House rejected a Democratic alternative that would have shielded $3.5 million of an estate's value from taxation -- enough to exempt 99.7 percent of estates from the tax, according to the Urban Institute and Brookings Institution.

In most tax debates during this administration, President Bush and the GOP say their tax cuts will help everyone, the Democrats say they will disproportionately benefit the rich, everyone trots out their charts and the argument rages. Democrats say trickle-down, Republicans say class warfare, yadda yadda yadda.

But here we have a case in which the Republicans have gone on record as trying to protect the top 0.3 percent, the richest households by far in the US of A.

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Ukrainian opposition claims Yushchenko sold missles to China and Iran

The Ukrainian opposition is certainly struggling with the truth these days so I would hope that this story is false. Selling missles capable of carrying nuclear warheads to China and Iran would not be a way to win friends, unless you are Pakistan. Then you can play the "we're helping you chase bin Laden" card. Read More......

Wingnut says DeLay should step down

Not that he believes any of the charges (wink, wink) but...

"If the majority leader were to temporarily step aside so that these trumped up charges can be dealt with in a less hostile environment, as they have proven to be an unnecessary distraction, it may be a productive move," said Rep. Tom Tancredo, R-CO.

Let the power struggle continue! I actually hope that DeLay gets just enough support from the GOP so that he sticks around for a while. The guy is going to be flapping in the breeze for a while which will only help to increase his profile among voters and help the Dem's in 2006.

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